Stonepounder
Stonepounder's JournalOperation Cowboy - How American GIs & German Soldiers Joined Forces to Save the Legendary Lipizzaner
Operation Cowboy – How American GIs & German Soldiers Joined Forces to Save the Legendary Lipizzaner Horses in the Final Hours of WW2
IT WAS APRIL 28, 1945. The war in Europe was just days away from ending when one of the strangest episodes of the entire conflict played out along the German-Czechoslovakian border. More than 350 American GIs had just fought their way through enemy lines to reach the town of Hostau. The settlement, which was still in the hands of a detachment of Wehrmacht soldiers, was home to some remarkably valuable treasure: several hundred prized Lipizzaner horses. The famous and extremely rare animals, which had been seized by the Third Reich as part of a bizarre wartime livestock breeding program, were now in the path of the advancing Red Army where they faced almost certain destruction. Fearing for the horses’ lives, the German officer in charge of the stud farm sent word to the Americans that he and his men would surrender en masse if the U.S. Army promised to get the beasts out of harm’s way. A cavalry unit in Patton’s Third Army leapt at the chance to save the legendary Lipizzaners. The mission, which was dubbed Operation Cowboy, would see U.S. troops, along with a motley collection of liberated Allied POWs, a bona fide Cossack aristocrat and a platoon of turn-coat German soldiers race the clock to drive a herd of priceless horses to safety, all the while fighting off attacks by a legion of crack troops from the Waffen-SS bent on their destruction. This unbelievable true-story was the inspiration for Ghost Riders, a new non-fiction book by author and historian Mark Felton. Here, Felton himself takes us through the story.
More at:
https://militaryhistorynow.com/2018/11/25/operation-cowboy-how-american-gis-german-soldiers-joined-forces-to-save-the-legendary-lipizzaner-horses-in-the-final-hours-of-ww2/
Three Utah Girls Stood Up To a Teacher Who Condemned a Boy For Having Two Dads
There is some hope in the world today. Stumbled across this article and thought it worth sharing.
Three Utah Girls Stood Up To a Teacher Who Condemned a Boy For Having Two Dads
A group of girls knew exactly what to do when they heard their fifth-grade substitute teacher at Deerfield Elementary School in Utah castigate a classmate who said that, for Thanksgiving, he was most thankful that he was “finally going to be adopted by my two dads.” The teacher launched into a 10-minute lecture on why “two men living together is a sin,” so the girls protested. Several times.
When their efforts failed to deter the teacher, the three girls left the room to get the principal and the teacher was escorted unceremoniously out of the classroom.Courtney Tanner of the Salt Lake Tribune tells the story:
Students later said that the substitute snapped, “Why on earth would you be happy about that?”
For the next 10 minutes she lectured the 30 kids in the class about her own views, how “homosexuality is wrong” and “two men living together is a sin.” She looked at the boy, too, and told him: “That’s nothing to be thankful for.”
…
“She also tried to blame our son,” said one of the boy’s dads, Louis van Amstel, “and told him that it was his fault that she went off.”
For their part, the school seems to have handled everything properly. They alerted van Amstel and his husband Josh almost immediately. They said disciplinary action would be taken against the substitute teacher (though we don’t know details).
Full article at:
https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2019/11/30/three-utah-girls-stood-up-to-a-teacher-who-condemned-a-boy-for-having-two-dads/
New Margaret & Helen - Did Anyone Else Realize We Are Building A Wall In Colorado?
https://margaretandhelen.com/2019/10/24/did-anyone-else-realize-we-are-building-a-wall-in-colorado-old-mexicans-new-mexicans-realdonaldtrump-hates-all-mexicans-coloradowall/Did anyone else realize we are building a wall in Colorado?
Margaret, nobody is perfect. Lord knows I’ve been known to have a mental lapse every now and then. Like when I thought Tulsi Gabbard might have some good ideas to add to the debates. She didn’t and that’s ok. I’m a big enough person to admit when I’m wrong. Having that capacity – that strength – to admit your mistakes, learn from them, grow from them, and then move on – well that’s actually a sign of good character. Which is exactly the reason why I can say without a doubt that Donald J. Drumpf, the 45th (gulp) President of these United States must have a really, really, really tiny penis.
Now hear me out…
Yesterday, Donald told a crowd of idiots that he was building a wall in New Mexico. He isn’t, but that’s not the point of this story. And for those of you who are upset that I just arbitrarily called the entire crowd idiots, just hang in there. I’ll make my case.
Trump told the room full of morons – I mean idiots – that he was building a wall in New Mexico. And then he added that he was building a wall in Colorado. And then in Texas… Wait. What? Colorado? He’s building a wall in Colorado? Yep. That’s what he said. And apparently it’s “a big one that really works.” He then joked about not building one in Kansas. And thank goodness about that because Oklahoma already feels insecure enough. Being cut off from Trump’s United States would just be rubbing salt in those Sooner wounds.
Full letter at link. No paywall. I love Margaret & Helen.
They tell you not to cry.
They tell you not to cry.
They tell you that it's just a dog, not a human being.
They tell you that the pain will be over.
They tell you that the animals don't know that they have to die.
They tell you that it's important not to let him suffer.
They tell you that you can have another one.
They tell you it's going to happen to you.
They tell you that there is more pain.
But they don't know how many times you've looked into your dog’s eyes.
They don't know how many times you and your dog have looked into darkness alone.
They don't know how many times your dog was the only one who was by your side.
They don't know how much fear you have
at night when you wake up with your grief.
They don't know how many times your dog slept near you.
They don't know how much you've changed since the dog has become a part of your life.
They don't know how many times you hugged him when he was sick.
They don't know how many times you've acted like you didn't see her hair getting whiter.
They don't know how many times you've talked to your dog, the only one who really hears.
They don't know that it was just your dog who knew you were in pain.
They don't know what it feels like to see your old dog trying to say hello.
They don't know that if things went wrong, the only one who didn't go is your dog.
They don't know that your dog trusts you every moment of his life, even in the last.
They don't know how much your dog loved you and how it is enough for him to be happy, because you loved him.
They don't know that crying for a dog is one of the most noble, significant, true, clean and warmest things you can do.
They don't know when the last time you moved him with trouble... made sure it didn’t hurt him.
They don't know what it felt like to pet their face in the last moments of their life....
In Memory of all those who went over the rainbow bridge. You all have a place forever in our hearts 💕
Kurds' Sense of Betrayal Compounded by Empowerment of Unsavory Rivals
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/18/world/middleeast/kurds-sense-of-betrayal-compounded-by-empowerment-of-unsavory-rivals.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=curKurds’ Sense of Betrayal Compounded by Empowerment of Unsavory Rivals
DOHUK, Iraq — Abandoned by the U.S., Kurdish forces are doubly angry at who are seeking to replace them: Turkish-allied Syrian fighters the United States had long rejected as extremists, criminals and thugs.
The United States had encouraged its Kurdish allies to dismantle their defenses in northern Syria, saying it would make it easier to assure Turkey that the Kurds posed no threat. So in recent months, according to three American officials involved, the Kurds blew up tunnels and destroyed trenches, leaving themselves vulnerable as the United States promised that it would have their back.
Now, a week after President Trump’s decision to pull American support from them, the sense of betrayal among the Kurds, trusted allies now being forced to flee under assault from Turkey, is matched only by their outrage at who will move in: Turkish soldiers supported by Syrian fighters the United States had long rejected as extremists, criminals and thugs.
“These are the misfits of the conflict, the worst of the worst,” said Hassan Hassan, a Syrian-born scholar tracking the fighting. “They have been notorious for extortion, theft and banditry, more like thugs than rebels — essentially mercenaries.”
The sudden empowerment of Turkish-backed Syrian militias is yet another swift turnaround in Syria’s eight-year-old war, and it was unleashed by President Trump’s decision to pull United States troops out of the way for a Turkish military incursion.
More at link.
Even if we manage to throw Trump out of office, or he loses the election, who is ever going to trust us again? If we are very lucky it will only take 50-70 years to regain the world's trust.
Scam warning
For some reason that I can't remember back at the end of Sept I paid $1.00 for a 'free trial' of a credit monitoring firm. I discovered that it was even less helpful than the free monitoring of Credit Karma, so didn't do anything to extend the service after the '7 day free trial'. Imagin my shock and awe when a $39.99 charge from them just showed up on my bank account. Evidently, buried somewhere where they assumed you wouldn't see it was the little factoid that if you didn't cancel after the free trial, you would end up paying $40.00 a month for something you can get for free elsewhere. Caveat Emptor! The firm is:
YourScoreAndMore, 866-752-5004, CA
Seth Abramson has some info about White House and DOJ hiding whistleblower info.
Follow link below:
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1172703173322203136.html
Trump's trade war is about to make it harder for Americans abroad to vote.
You've probably never heard of the UPU, or Universal Postal Union. It is a 145 year old treaty that facilitates the sending of mail across international borders. Trump is now threatening to withdraw from the treaty as part of his trade war with China.
Does China currently get somewhat of a sweetheart deal on shipping rates? Yes. Would it make sense to get some of our allies (do we have any allies left?) onboard to try and get a rate change? Sure. But Trump wants to go it alone and just leave the treaty. Which could be disastrous.
WaPo has a full article/opinion at:
https://beta.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/09/13/trumps-trade-war-is-about-make-it-harder-americans-abroad-vote/
The article is long and complex and just doesn't lend itself to a 4 paragraph excerpt.
An oldie but a goodie.
Is Hell Exothermic or Endothermic?
The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid-term:
"Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)? Support your answer with a proof."
Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle’s Law (gas cools off when it expands and heats up when it is compressed) or some variant. One student, however, wrote the following:
First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So, we need to know the rate that souls are moving into Hell and the rate they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let’s look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Some of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there are more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all people and all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle’s Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand as souls are added. This gives two possibilities.
1) If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.
2) Of course, if Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.
So which is it ? If we accept the postulate given to me by Ms. Therese Banyan during my Freshman year that "It will be a cold night in Hell before I sleep with you," and take into account the fact that I still have not succeeded in having sexual relations with her, then (2) cannot be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic.
The student got the only A.
China Stops Buying US Agricultural Products Entirely
https://modernfarmer.com/2019/08/china-stops-buying-us-agricultural-products-entirely/Modern Farmer
By Dan Nosowitz ON AUGUST 7, 2019
On Tuesday, the Chinese Commerce Ministry announced that China will no longer be buying American agricultural products, a decision with huge, wide-ranging implications. Zippy Duvall, president of the normally conservative-leaning American Farm Bureau, called the decision a “body blow” to American agriculture.
The Chinese decision is a response to two moves from Donald Trump and his administration. The first was a surprise announcement, made by Trump, that the US would begin instituting a 10 percent tariff on about $300 billion worth of Chinese goods. This came following a series of trade negotiations that press officers in the Trump administration described as “productive,” but Trump tweeted that China had reneged on promises to purchase certain American agricultural products (without specifying what those might have been).
Then, on Monday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin formally labeled China as a currency manipulator due to a drop in the value of the yuan. The move is largely symbolic, but also nearly unprecedented, and seen as mostly an open-handed slap in the face to China.
In response, it appears, came the Chinese government’s tactic to halt the purchase of American agricultural goods. China’s targeting of American agriculture has the benefit, in China’s perspective, of being both a large and a political attack. China imports billions of dollars of American agriculture, being the largest importer of American soybeans and a top-three importer of American pork; overall, China is the fourth-largest importer of American agricultural goods. But attacking American agriculture also serves as a de facto attack on Trump, who is perceived to draw support from rural America. This will be yet another insanely heavy burden on American farmers, who have dealt with fallout from the trade war for over a year, in addition to swine flu, floods, droughts, and heat waves.
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